Voice of an angel
by Republic-of-Yolossia
Summary: He had not been able to escape, and now the world around him burned and he burned with it. Blinded and disfigured, Yao lays in a hospital bed waiting for death, and the only thing keeping him sane is the kind voice of a volunteer nurse. Chuleich, Bulkraine, polhun, romawan, rated for character death and gore
1. Countdown

Yao was certain he would make it to shelter in time.

After putting his siblings on the train, he'd had an hour to find somewhere in the little town to hide from the bomb, the bomb they'd had three day's warning about. But everywhere he tried was full or hostile to intruders. The thousands of people in the city- the ones who couldn't get visas in time- had barricaded themselves into their homes, praying it would hold against whatever effects this newly developed weapon had. Yao should have known they'd not take him in.

Why would they jeopardise their safety over one man?

Yao was just glad the rest of his family were safe. He'd managed to secure visas for everyone- except himself- and right now they were on a train to somewhere safe. Somewhere that wouldn't be burnt to the ground.

It'd been hard, letting them go but necessary, even if no one but himself saw it that way. None of them wanted to leave without him, despite his promises that he'd be safe.

But they had always been good at being able to tell when he was lying.

Yong-Soo, the youngest sibling and only a small boy, had screamed and wailed, clinging to him tightly, sobbing uncontrollably and refusing to get on the train. Cheng and Niran had to prize him off and carry him onto their carriage, full of other impatient, disgruntled passengers who did not appreciate the delay. Luckily, Mei, Kim-ly and Xiang boarded without a fuss, just a few tears. Kiku, the second oldest child after Yao himself, promised to be a good bog brother to everyone. Even his eyes weren't dry, but the young man simply said his farewell and got on without causing a scene.

Arjun was there too, begging his old friend to trade places with him. He'd even tried to push his own visa into Yao's hand and shove him on the train, but Yao resisted, stating he would do no such thing. Eventually, as the last whistle was blowing, Arjun just sighed, boarding and giving a final farewell to Yao, promising to look after his family and Yao, in return, promised to stay out of harm's way and survive.

Yao couldn't believe he'd not be able to keep that promise.

Resigning himself to whatever fate awaited those still out in the open, he stood in the middle of the town square and waited for the telltale buzz of the aircraft carrying death and destruction.

They said it was an experiment, a test to see what the new bomb could do, and what better place to test it than a small enemy town? Yao still had no clue what caused this new world war, and until now hadn't really cared about the stories of people dying horribly in big cities all over the world. He'd felt safe here, far away from the fighting, far away from the computer controlled nuclear weapons that burnt and melted and incinerated. But now? Well, now they would prove to be the end of him and all he loved.

Yao would've liked to have known how he'd die. Would it be quick? Or slow and agonizing? Would he have to watch himself melt or would his eyes be burnt out of their sockets before that happened? But if the government didn't even know, what chance did he have?

They'd tried everything. Spies, sabotage, sending counter missiles to destroy the bomb before it imploded. Now all they could do was evacuate, and even then thousands would be left behind to die.

Like Yao.

Sighing, he looked around at the place his body would lay, if the bomb even left bodies, that is. The town square was quiet, deserted, and even the large fountain in the middle was switched off. It was evening, and the buildings around him cast long shadows, tinted orange by the sun. A newspaper skidded across the floor in the wind, the rustle breaking the silence. Somewhere in the distance, a child's wail could be heard and Yao shook his head, trying not to think of Yong-Soo.

Yao remembered taking his siblings here in the summer, almost a lifetime away, letting them splash in the fountain to cool off. Arjun would come too, to help him with his small army of brothers and sisters. Niran would insist on taking his stuffed elephant toy even though he knew it would take days to dry. Kim-ly would just swim laps around the edge; she always did want to become a professional swimmer. Mei and Yong-Soo liked splashing everyone, especially each other, while Cheng and Kiku just sat on the side, letting their feet dangle as they talked quietly or read. Xiang, for some reason, kept trying to climb the fountain itself, so Yao and Arjun had to keep a close eye on him.

They weren't the only ones to let small children play in the water; it was a popular place to cool off and socialise. He wondered if his friends had gotten their families to safety, or if they were hiding in their homes, praying and hoping.

Reaching into his coat pocket, Yao pulled out the small stuffed elephant that Niran loved so much, stroking its fur softly. Niran had given him it as they stood in the station, saying 'don't worry, big brother, Toto will protect you, okay?' He'd smiled as he said it, as if he really believed it would. Yao had been touched by the gesture; the only other person Niran had ever given his beloved Toto to was Kim-ly. Yao held the toy to his face and inhaled, taking in his brother's scent. Then he placed the elephant back inside his coat pocket, as if the fabric would protect it from the bomb.

Yao remembered giving Niran his toy panda in return, and wondered if the teen was looking at it now.

Then he heard it.

The whirr of an engine. The plane with the bomb inside it, waiting to be dropped. The one plane that had evaded all missiles and weaponry. The plane that would bring his and so many other's downfall.

Yao closed his eyes, counting slowly.

One… two… three…

He heard the doors creak open at the bottom of the plane, high in the sky, and the bomb began hurtling towards the town.

Six… seven… eight…

There was the faint whistling sound as the bomb grew nearer.

Eleven… twelve… thirteen…

Yao wished his family luck.

Fifteen… sixteen…

_Be good, everyone_, he whispered.

Eighteen… nineteen…

_Live long and happy lives._

Twenty one…

_Take care, Arjun_. Yao regretted never acting on his feelings for the young man. Then again, maybe it was for the best after all.

Twenty five…

He could hear the whistling clearly now, though it was more of a high-pitched scream.

Twenty eight… twenty nine…

There was an explosion and the world around him burst into flames.

…

I can't believe I'm starting a new story, and I can't believe it's a story I thought up yesterday and not one I'd spent months planning. Still, no regrets!

Yeah this is a chuliech story (with hints of china/india but not much) and follows an apocalyptic theme. This will probably be a bit shorter than my other ones, but still a fair few chapters long.

Now I should say that this is not set in a specific country, and I'm not going to say who's on what side of this war, because I don't want anyone to feel demonised and it's not really essential to the plot.

Oh, and please leave feedback!

I swear, one of these days I will write happy chuliech.

Human names:

Niran- Thailand

Kim-ly- Vietnam

Yong-Soo- S. Korea

Kiku- Japan

Arjun- India

Xiang- Hong Kong

Cheng- Macau

Mei- Taiwan


	2. Agony

Yao had experienced pain in his life many times.

There was the time when he fell out of a tree, aged ten, and broke his arm. That had been his first experience of true, crippling pain and he remembered crying all the way to the hospital, but bragged about it afterwards at school, showing off his cast and getting people to sign it. Even if Kiku was quick to account the true story of events to everyone ('he cried… a lot'), Yao still felt brave and heroic.

His appendix had burst when he was fourteen, resulting in another spell in hospital followed by more showing off (the scar from the operation, this time).

He'd watched Arjun dancing with his date all night at the high school disco, which, at the time, felt almost as bad as the broken arm. He couldn't even comfort eat because the buffet was so shitty and crowded. Emotional pain could be just as bad as physical pain, right?

When Yong-Soo fell off the garden wall and hit his head, Yao felt pain for his brother. He remembered the child's cries tugging at his heart strings.

It was the same pain that had accompanied his final farewell to his family.

Then there were scrapes and bruises, burns from cooking accidents and being beaten black and blue by infant siblings. Yao caught fingers in doors, tripped on toys, was attacked by animals and small children and had bitten his mouth and tongue more times than he cared to remember.

Yes, Yao had experienced many different pains in his life, but none of those came anywhere near to the unyielding, unforgiving agony he was experiencing now.

The air around him was hot, thick like soup, and breathing it in felt like his insides were being attacked by wasps. It sung every inch of his skin, burning his clothes, singeing his hair. The waves of heat attacked his flesh, right to the bone, boiled his blood, and assaulted his joints. The torture of it brought him to his knees and he wrapped his arms around him, sobs wracking his body as he waited for it to end.

But it never did.

The chemicals in the bomb dug into the pores of his skin, burning and peeling, whilst filling his nostrils, his throat, with fire. His eyes stung and he found it was too painful to open them. The substances invaded his lungs, disfiguring them and making it impossible to breathe. His clothes stung, his lungs screamed for air and Yao collapsed on the floor, sliding into unconsciousness.

…

Yao couldn't feel anything. He could not see, hear or even think.

There were times when he was partially aware of what was going on, but he soon slipped back into his coma. On and off, the cycle continued for… days? Weeks? He no longer cared. He no longer knew if he was alive even, and began to lose all sense of identity. He no longer cared what his name was, who he was. The only thing he could think about was the pain inside him.

Eventually, his mind came back to his body and he realised he was not dead, that there were noises and smells around him. Faint and unintelligible, but there. He remembered that he was Yao Wang, oldest child, chef and part-time poet, left behind and caught in a chemical storm. But why was he still alive? Yao accepted that he was not dead. He was in too much pain to be dead. So where was he now? Was he still lying in that square? Had he been taken and buried with the other bodies scattered around the city? Or taken to be dumped somewhere, if there were too many bodies for mass graves even. But, surely he was still above ground if he could breath.

He moved his hands, which was agonising but he still carried on, and tried to feel the space he was lying on, but it was no good. His fingers and hands were too burnt to feel anything except pain. His nerve ends must be ruined. He groaned, but his lips would not move to form words. Every little stir caused him great pain, and Yao gave up trying to move. It wasn't like he'd be able to see where he was anyway. His eyes were firmly shut and impossible to open.

'Oh good; you're alive,' came a voice. Yao tried to turn to where the voice was coming from but a wave of pain shot through his neck.

'No don't move!' the voice was closer now. Yao could tell it was a female's voice, quite high-pitched and heavily accented. He wondered who the voice belonged to, if it was just his imagination finally giving way to delirium or if another person had survived the attack.

He opened his mouth to try to reply, but found his lips were too dry and bloody to work properly. Every movement caused them to crack and bleed, so once more gave up. He doubted he was in any state to form words anyway.

'I'm glad you're alive,' continued the voice, 'usually we find people and they die after a few hours, but you didn't. Now you're awake I can give you water,' Yao allowed himself to pulled into a sitting position by soft hands, he felt a glass touch his partially open lips and water filled his mouth. It cooled his throat and dulled the pain.

The hands then lowered him back down and he felt himself being covered in a stretch of fabric- probably a blanket- whilst a hand gently stroked whatever thin strands of burnt hair was left on his head.

'Shhh,' the voice spoke to him again, 'you're safe now; just go back to sleep and rest, okay?'

Yao saw no reason to disobey.

…

Hey I got the second chapter up. So this will be more or less told from Yao's point of view, so I will have to rely on the senses apart from sight to tell the story, which sounds like an interesting challenge.

Thank you to everyone who has taken an interest in this story so far, I really appreciate it!

Also, I didn't plan for any side pairings to be in this, and I might not add any. But would anyone object if I considered adding Bulkraine? I just want to write that pairing.

Oh, and happy St Patrick's day everyone!


	3. A lot of people are dead

Elise- Liechtenstein

Tsvetan- Bulgaria

Katya- Ukraine

…

When Yao next awoke, his head was clearer and so were the noises around him. He lay there for a few moments, eyes closed, just taking in the sounds. He heard murmurs and groans of pain, a male voice shouting orders and a child whimpering. There were boxes and packages being opened, the shuffling of feet, people vomiting, machines beeping, and water running. Somewhere, a voice screamed out in an unknown language and a baby started wailing. Objects in paper were unwrapped and plastic eating utensils scraped against plates.

The smell was more defined too. Though that was far from a good thing. Death, vomit and rotting human filled his nostrils and Yao coughed, covering his mouth with his hand, which took a monumental effort. There was the scent of chemicals, bleach, disinfectant and occasionally something that was probably food.

Yao lifted his head up, finding the process easier than before but still painful, and opened his eyes.

But he still couldn't see.

Yao blinked a couple of times but his vision was still blank. He started to panic, arms twitching uncontrollably, chest rising and falling in quick succession. He wanted to know where he was, what had happened and felt like he would explode if he didn't find out where he was.

'Calm down!' Yao felt a hand rest on his upper arm and the surface he was laying on become uneven, like he was in a bed and someone was sitting next to him. The voice was the same one from before: piercing, yet soft, and heavily accented, and it brought Yao some reassurance.

'Here, let me help you up,' Yao allowed himself to be pulled into a sitting position, turned 90 degrees and his back came into contact with a wall. So he was in a bed pushed up against a wall, and not alone.

'W-where… am I?' Yao's voice croaked from lack of use, and his throat and mouth were still in terrible condition.

'Oh, so you can speak then,' the voice gave a chuckle, 'I was worried your voice box was gone too, like so many others' have. You're in hospital. Well, our little makeshift one. It was an old library we turned into a hospital for everyone in town, just in case the real one was targeted by the bombers.'

'And was it?' the inside of Yao's mouth was desert-like in dryness, but he wanted to know more.

'No,' the voice seemed almost sad for a moment, and Yao wondered where the bomb had landed, but was too afraid to ask. What if it- no, there was no way the train of refugees would be hit. That was just too evil an act, and it would have been too far away by then, right?

'Are… are we moving… to the old hospital?' each word was a struggle.

'It's impossible,' explained the voice, 'the people here are too sick to be moved and the air's too toxic. It's full of bad chemicals and we don't have enough safe-suits to go around.'

'S-sa…?'

'Safe-suits are protective, plastic suits people have to wear to go outside. The ambulance drivers and search parties wear them. The people that found you wore them. Oh, they would be Tsvetan and Katya, some of our other nurses. You'll probably meet them later.'

'O…okay,' Yao thought for a moment, steeling himself to ask the one thing he wanted to know, but was scared of the answer, 'uh-um, wh-why can't I see?'

'Your eyes have a bandage over them,' answered the voice, 'most of your body is bandaged. You were quite exposed; Tsvetan told me they found you in the town square but you're not the worst hit, thankfully.'

'I see…' Yao slowly raised his arms, brushing against his face with his long, thin fingers. The nerves in his hands seemed to be almost gone, but even touching his sore cheeks and nose stung. Yao found the bandage wrapped around his head, covering his eyes, 'can I take it off?'

'Won't do any good,' Yao could practically sense the person next to him shrugging.

'Why?'

'Oh… you see…' there was a sigh, 'sir, your eyes…. The bomb targets sensitive and vital areas of the body. Joints, ears, lungs… and eyes. They've been burnt clean away. You'll… you'll never be able to see again. You can't walk either. The joints in your knees are too weak.'

'What?' Yao shook his head in disbelief. He'd never be able to look at his family's faces again? He'd…. be blind for the rest of his life. He was supposed to lay bed-ridden until the day he died? Spending his days in hospital unable to leave? What would happen to him? 'It- it can't be true!'

'Most people here can't see or walk any more,' the voice replied, 'maybe that's a good thing. All around there's just blood and death and bad things.'

Yao sighed; maybe she was right.

'Oh,' the voice added, 'since you seem like you'll survive for some time, we'll need to clear the chemicals from inside you.'

'How?' Yao hated not being able to contribute intelligently to the conversation, but even one word answers were an effort right now.

'Eat this,' Yao felt a small tablet being pressed against his lips, 'it'll make you sick up the bad chemicals.'

Yao nodded, swallowing the tablet, and a bucket was passed to him.

'It works really quickly,' the voice warned.

'Okay,' Yao leaned forward, feeling somewhat self conscious at the thought of doing something like this in public.

'Oh, I'm Elise Biedermann-Zwingli, by the way,'

Yao opened his mouth to reply with his own name, but his stomach cramped and he was sick instead. A pair of hands forcefully pushed his head forward, so he wouldn't miss the bucket.

'There there,' cooed Elise, 'it'll be over soon.'

'Kill me,' whispered Yao, 'just do it and safe yourself the resources and bother.' The hands on his back grew limp, and fell away. Yao was about to say something when anther cramp, followed by another wave of sick followed, this time there were no hands helping him aim and no comforting voice.

Eventually, Yao felt there was nothing left inside of him, and the cramps stopped.

'There, wasn't so bad,' Elise's voice was cold now.

'Did I… say something to offend you?' Yao asked, 'I didn't… didn't mean to.'

'I know,' Elise sighed, 'it's just… a lot of people are dead now. You still have time, you still have life left. Just… make the most of it.'

'How?' Yao demanded, 'I'm away from my family, and I'll never be able to rejoin them.'

'At least they're alive!' Elise cried, 'some people have lost everyone!'

'Have _you_?' Yao knew, as soon as he said it, he'd gone too far. Elise didn't reply, but Yao felt her weight shifting as she stood up and the sound of running footsteps growing more and more distant.

Yao buried his face in his hands; he'd lost the only person who cared to look after him in this hellhole.

He hoped she'd forgive him.

…

Sorry for the delay, I haven't had much time, which is a shame cause I really like this story, even if it's a bit gory.

So, I've compiled the list of side pairings I plan too add in this story, and, so you're warned and won't have any unpleasant surprises, will list them now:

Bulkraine, PolHun, Romwan/taimano, Sufin, and that's pretty much it.

Please leave feedback!


	4. A year at the most

Franz- Kugelmugel

…

Half an hour later, Elise returned.

'Are you okay?' she asked. Yao wondered if she looked concerned, or if she was still angry. He was in the same position she left him in, leaning against the wall.

'Fine,' he lied. The pain was still unbearable, but she probably already knew that.

Why bring it up again?

'I'm… sorry about my outburst earlier,' Yao felt Elise sit on the bed next to him, 'I would've come back sooner but my step-brother just brought in new survivors and-'

'I'm sorry too,' replied Yao, 'it… was insensitive of me to ask…'

'It's a fair question,' there was a pause before Elise spoke again, 'I… have- had- a large family, but now there's only three of us left.'

'I see,' muttered Yao, 'sorry for your loss.'

'Mm,' Elise appeared to be thinking, 'I have my step-brother Vash; he's older and kinda grumpy, but sweet on the inside. He's the one in charge of the ambulance and rescuing survivors. The two of us were in here, so we were protected, but our cousins… there were four: Gilbert, Roderich, Ludwig and Franz. Gilbert and Ludwig ran, but were caught outside and, there was nothing left to bury even, while Roderich and Franz hid in their house and the plan was to rescue them later. But the bad air… it seeped in through the windows and doors. They were all near where the bomb went off. Only Franz survived because he hid in a toy chest. He's in the bed next to you, asleep. He isn't as hurt as the other people, so he'll soon be up and about again, thankfully. He's only twelve and has his whole life ahead of him.'

'That's good,' Yao smiled for a second, but it was soon gone, 'that your cousin survived, not…'

'I know.'

'What about your parents?' Yao wondered if he was prying too much.

'In the big city fighting with computers,' replied Elise, 'I haven't seen them in over a year. What about your family?'

'I haven't seen my parents in over a year either,' Yao told her, 'but… that's because they… were in a car accident…'

'I'm so sorry,' Yao felt Elise's body shift, like she was turning to face him.

'It's fine,' Yao sighed, 'just wish, sometimes… I'd had time to grieve properly.'

'I see,' replied Elise, 'busy job?'

'Kind of,' Yao gave a small smile, 'it's mainly my seven younger siblings though. They kept me busy. That's probably a good thing,'

'What are their names?' asked Elise.

For the next hour or so, Yao talked about his little brothers and sisters, their names, ages, what they liked, their little habits and so on until his throat was too sore to talk. He took a deep breath, but it stung.

'Here,' cried Elise, 'let me get you some water,' she held a bottle to his lips and he drank, once again feeling relief, even if the water was anything but cool and fresh.

'Thanks,' the pair sat in silence for a few moments, 'so… yeah, they're all on the train, along with my best friend, Arjun. At least, I hope so… erm, Elise?'

'Yeah?'

'Where… where did the bomb land?'

'In the woods at the edge of town,' Elise sniffed; was she crying? 'Everyone thought it would land in the town centre, or on an important building, that's why anyone without a visa either stayed inside or… tried to run.'

'Into the… oh no.'

'Exactly!' cried Elise, 'the people in the woods were either killed, or are dying here now. They all thought that hiding there, or just running as far away from the city would save them…'

'That's… that's just cruel,' Yao felt a surge of anger; if you were going to attack civilians, at least give them a chance!

'That's how Gil and Lud died,' added Elise. Yao heard another sniff; Elise was crying, wasn't she? Either way, Yao knew he should console her. He reached out his left arm, finding her shoulders and wrapping his arm around them.

'Hey, there, there,' he cooed, 'things will get better, you'll see.'

'Thank you,' Elise hugged him back and they sat there for a few minutes in silence. Eventually, Yao broke the hug, shuffling away awkwardly.

'So,' he reached a hand into his jacket for Niran's elephant, but found it to be missing, 'hey… where are my clothes?' he felt his chest, then the rest of his body, and found his jacket and jeans had been replaced by a thin nightgown. It ended halfway between his hips and his knees, and Yao suddenly felt self conscious.

'We had to burn them,' explained Elise, 'they were covered in chemicals and dangerous to have in a hospital; they were too burnt to wear anyway.'

'But my elephant,' Yao felt like his one tie to his family was now gone.

'I saved it!' Elise pressed something into Yao's hands, 'it got a bit ruined but I washed it so it's okay.'

Yao felt the remains of the soft toy. Its fur was gone now, melted and hard. Yao felt its face, and ran his fingers over its ears and trunk, but found it had no eyes. Like him. Yao chuckled at that. He lifted it to his face and inhaled, but found his brother's smell was gone, replaced by soap and disinfectant. Still, at least he had it.

'Thank you,' he beamed at Elise, 'I… I don't know what I would do if I lost it. It's Niran's favourite toy- he carries the stupid thing everywhere- and he gave it to me to remember him by…'

'That's sweet,' Elise gave a small chuckle.

'It is,' Yao grinned, then his smile fell, 'if… I got better, I mean, if I regained my strength, and used supports, could I walk again? I could go back to them, right? Even if I have to walk all the way, I'd get there in the end.'

'Oh… oh Yao,' Elise sighed, 'can't you… can't you feel it?'

'Feel what?' Yao pulled his face into an expression of confusion.

'Your legs! They're…. well, gone,' explained Elise, 'when Tsvetan found you your right leg had already fallen off and they had to amputate the left one because it was swollen too badly. You would have died if they didn't.'

'So I can't leave?' Yao leaned forward, hands brushing against his legs, until he reached his knees and they… stopped. Yao could feel burns and charred skin marking where his legs ended, dried blood, bone and burnt flesh: hard, jagged and uneven. But it made no sense; it still felt like they were there. If they were gone why did he feel like he could move them, like he could just up and leave?

'No sorry,' Elise paused for a moment, 'but, maybe, after this is all over, Vash and I could help you find your family. We found a photo in your clothes too,' she passed a little slip of card to Yao; 'there you go. We'll know what they look like and might be able to track them down.' Yao ran his fingers over the photo. He knew which one it was: from a few years back, on Kiku's birthday when all eight of them were sat around the table laughing and eating. He'd kept it in his pocket next to the elephant.

'Thank you,' Yao gave a small smile, 'I'd really like that.'

'Hey it's fine,' Elise placed her hand on his back, between his shoulder blades, rubbing it slowly, 'but we have a lot of people to treat first, so it might take a while seeing as we have to wait for everyone to get better or…'

'Die?' Yao suggested.

'That's it,' Elise's hand stopped moving, 'everyone seems sick, like there was something else in the chemicals. The people worst hit are already dead and the others are following.'

'Oh,' Yao paused for a moment, 'Elise… I want you to answer me honestly… am I going to die too?'

Elise chose her words carefully, 'I don't know, and that's the truth. The chemicals from the bomb have diffused into your blood, and are attacking all your cells slowly. But it's only a week or so since the explosion, and there are still loads of people alive! You never know…'

Yao couldn't bring himself to be optimistic, 'how long have I got?'

'A year at the most,' Elise squeezed Yao's shoulder, 'you'd think… I'd be used to people dying but you're really nice. I'd… like to be your friend, if that's okay.'

'Of course,' Yao smiled, despite what he'd heard, 'you're kind, you take your time to look after me.'

'I'm a nurse,' replied Elise, 'it's my job.'

'Do you have conversations with all your patients?'

'No,' admitted Elise, 'that reminds me, it's dinner soon. I have to go serve it to everyone. Hope you don't mind porridge.' She stood up, ruffling Yao's hair.

'I'm not too sure if I have an appetite,' Yao sank back in his bed, resting his head on the pillow while Elise pulled the covers over him. So he was to live for a year in pain, an invalid, away from his family, reliant on others for everything? Why couldn't the bomb have just ended him there and then? Why did it have to land in the woods, filled with people who wanted to live? Was it too much to ask for Yao to have been incinerated, turned to dust, and not have to worry about dying slowly and painfully? Still, at least he wouldn't die alone.

'But you must eat!' exclaimed Elise, 'you have to keep up your strength, that's your only hope of getting better.'

'Oh,' Yao nodded, clutching the elephant and photograph to his chest, 'then, I guess a little bowl couldn't hurt.'

'Good,' Elise stroked Yao's hair, 'I'll bring you a bowl then! After that you can rest, okay?'

'Fine,' Yao closed his eyes, giving a small smile.

…

Sorry for the lack of updates, but it's three days til my Easter holidays, so I'll have more time to update all my fics!

Please leave feedback, and any suggestions/ideas/things you'd like to see.


	5. Never made it in time

_Romania- Alin_

_Moldova- Andrei_

…

'_Are you sure you won't reconsider?' Tsvetan looked at Alin hopefully, but his best friend just shook his head, stuffing his gloved hands into his coat._

'_Look, I don't know how you plan to survive hiding behind a few bricks,' Alin replied, looking older and more exhausted than Tsvetan had ever seen him, 'but Andrei and I aren't gonna take that chance.'_

'_It's dangerous to be outside,' Tsvetan tried again, 'you'll never make it to safety in time!'_

'_We will,' Alin squared his jaw, 'besides, it's dangerous to be in town! Look, if Andrei and I leave now, we can get to the woods and hide there until it's safe.'_

'_You're… pretty certain about this,' Tsvetan sighed, 'fine, go. But be careful!'_

'_We will! What kind of dickhead older brother would I be if I wasn't careful?' Alin turned to the young man in conversation with Katya and slapped him on the back, 'come on, little bro, time to leave.'_

'_Sure thing,' Andrei moved over to the large front doors and began to unbolt them. The four were in the large car park underneath the new, temporary, hospital. Behind them, a row of ambulances stood, ready to spring into action bringing survivors back to get treatment._

_If there were any, that is._

'_Remember,' warned Katya, 'once you leave here you're on your own. We can't jeopardise everyone in here just because you've changed your minds, right Tsve?'_

'_R-right,' Tsvetan winced at the thought. What if the brothers changed their minds? What if Tsvetan had to listen to them banging on the door, terrified, begging to be let back in? Surely he'd be allowed to let them in, right?_

'_Hey we'll be fine,' Alin assured him, kissing both his cheeks and ruffling his dark hair. He opened the door and ushered his little brother outside, 'until next time…' they both knew, however, that there was a colossal change one or both of them would not survive._

_It was only one hour until detonation._

'_Take care of him,' Alin added to Katya, and then the brothers bolted, dashing to the left. Tsvetan peered through the open door at the boys' retreating backs- neither turned around- until they disappeared from view. Then he sighed and closed the door for good._

…

Tsvetan sat in the chair next to the bed where the bodies lay. He ignored everything else around him and focused only on his closest friend. He tried to speak, but, in his disbelief, couldn't form words. His mouth opened and closed at the pure shock of it all. He took the charred remains of the corpse's hand and stared at his best friend's face.

Alin and Andrei Radacanu were almost unrecognisable, only their eccentric, now ruined, clothing giving away their identities. Alin's brown, messy hair was fried and uneven, coming away in chunks and his eyes were burnt out of their sockets, like the other victims'. His thick coat clung to his flesh and his skin was blistered, peeled and covered in scabs. In some places, his skin had melted away completely, revealing clean, white bone.

Tsvetan had been numb with shock ever since he found the two bodies of is friends, laying sprawled on the earthy floor amongst twiggy, scorched trees and other disfigured bodies. The pair had been alive when Tsvetan and Katya found them and the young couple had clung to the hope that they could be saved, but the brothers were too far gone. Andrei never even made it to the hospital, slipping away in the ambulance, whilst Alin held on for a few days more, lying in hospital in agony.

His wounds, coupled with the loss of his brother, proved too much for the young man and he died earlier that morning. He couldn't see, hear or speak, and Tsvetan knew it would eventually happen, but prayed for a miracle even so.

Tsvetan couldn't bring himself to move the bodies. No, not the bodies, his friends! He knew there were other patients who needed care and attention, but there were other people to deal with them.

So the staff left him to grieve, more or less.

The past few days had brought protest at the presence of Andrei though. Other nurses had asked, ordered, even demanded he be put with the other bodies to go to the mass graves, but both Tsvetan and Alin had protested. The young man had clung to his little brother's hand and panicked every time someone tried to take Andrei away, so he was left alone. The Radacanu brothers would stick together until the bitter end.

But the bitter end had come, so what now?

'Tsve,' Katya placed a hand on her partner's shoulder, 'we need the bed…'

'No,' Tsvetan mumbled stubbornly.

Katya sighed, pulling up a chair next to him. Tsvetan ignored her, stroking Alin's skeletal hand, staring at his cracked, bloodied lips, whatever as left of his nose and the empty eye sockets, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

'Why him?' Tsvetan eventually whispered.

'Look, dear,' Katya rubbed Tsvetan's back soothingly, 'no human can survive those kinds of injuries-'

'Alin's not human.'

'What? Course he is! Tsve, don't-'

'He told me he was a dragon,' Tsvetan turned to face Katya, 'when we were little he always told me he was really a dragon trapped in a human's body and I would say I believed him just to humour the guy… guess he was just human after all.'

'I see,' Katya looked at the brothers, 'I know you don't want to hear this, but we've had another search today and found fifty more survivors… most won't even get a bed…'

'I don't want them going in a mass grave,' Tsvetan was close to tears now, 'they're special to me- to us- and I want their resting place to be special,' he closed his eyes for a brief moment and when he opened them again, they were full of determination.

'There's space in the garden,' he began, 'I'll bury them myself!'

…

Katya watched her boyfriend through the window. He was hidden inside his safe-suit, digging furiously into the ground. Next to him, lay the two bodies, exposed, as they couldn't spare a sheet to cover them.

'What's he doing?' asked Elise, appearing next to her.

'Burying his friends,' replied Katya.

'I see,' Elise followed her gaze, staring at Tsvetan while he worked.

'You doing okay?' Katya enquired, 'I know this must be a lot for you to handle…' Elise, at seventeen, was still a kid in Katya's eyes and had already seen so much.

'I'll get used to it,' Elise gave a determined smile, 'are you managing?'

Katya smiled warmly at the younger girl, 'I'm trying my best; we all are.' There was a pause for a moment while she thought, 'you're getting too distracted though, if you don't mind me saying…'

'Not at all,'

'That young man,' continued Katya, 'you're spending a lot of time with him.'

'Yao? I know,' Elise sighed, 'but he seems so nice, and he's away from his family, like you, and I want to help him find them again.'

'You shouldn't get too attached,' warned Katya, 'you know he'll die eventually.'

'Won't we all? Eventually,' Elise turned her attention back to Tsvetan, 'we might as well make the most of our lives.'

'Of course,' Katya was silent for a minute, then sighed, turning from the window, 'can you take care of my patients for a few minutes?'

'Of course!' Elise jumped at the chance to help, 'why? What are you going to do?'

Katya chuckled, 'I'm going to help my boyfriend. I don't think he wants to be alone right now.'

…

Wow two updates in one night, huh? I already had this chapter written down so it was just copying. Oh, a word of advice: don't listen to 'empty chairs at empty tables' while reading this, both of those are sad enough on their own, together they're just brutal.

Sorry to Romania and Moldova fans and I hope I'm getting everyone in character.

Please leave feedback!


	6. Seeing without eyes

James/Jett- Australia

Hunapo- New Zealand

Oscar- Hutt River

Charlotte- Wy

…

Yao must've fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing he knew Elise was shaking him gently by the shoulder.

'Wake up,' she sang, 'dinner time!'

'Huh?' Yao blinked in confusion before remembering he couldn't see. The young man had a feeling he'd never get used to that, and sighed, hauling himself into a sitting position. He hissed in pain as his skin and muscles protested against the movement, but continued anyway. He would not let his injuries get the better of him. When he was sat resting his head against the pillow, Yao felt a warm bowl being placed on his lap. He inhaled, and found it was porridge. Yao suppressed a shudder; he hated porridge at the best of times, but did not want to offend Elise.

'Here,' Elise pressed a metal spoon into Yao's hand, gently as to not upset the sores, 'sorry it took so long, but there were a lot of people to get through and you were sleeping so peacefully… not I can sit with you and help you eat.' He pulled his mouth into a small, strained, smile, dipping the spoon- with guidance from Elise- into the thick, oaty substance and bringing it to his mouth. He blew gently, and then swallowed.

If he hated porridge at the best of times, he couldn't even begin to describe his loathing for it at the worst of times. It was watery, undercooked and an all round disgrace to food. He tried to keep a straight face, but apparently failed, judging by Elise's reaction.

'Sorry,' she sighed, 'it's not very good, huh?'

'No, no, I like it!' Yao sloppily shovelled more food into his mouth, grinning, face covered in porridge. Elise chuckled, and Yao felt a damp cloth wipe his face, gentle enough to not sting too much.

'I… I used to work at a top-class restaurant,' Yao explained, 'so I've always been fussy about food. Everyone says I'm too picky and it's something I've been meaning to work on. It's nice; just I'm not really used to….' He ate another spoonful of porridge; sure, to say he didn't like it would be an understatement, but Elise wanted him to eat and Yao would be dammed if he didn't finish it!

'I understand,' replied Elise, 'but we don't really have much in the way of food. Our stores are filled with simple things that will last, at least until outside help comes along.'

'And when will that be?' Yao, for good reason, hadn't really given much thought about the future. He wouldn't be around to see it. But what did everyone at the hospital expect to do? Surely the government would send help, right?

'We don't know,' admitted Elise, 'but, people have to come looking for survivors, right? They can't leave us here…'

'Help will come,' Yao assured her, though he had no idea if that was true.

'It has to,' Elise sat down on the bed, next to Yao. He could feel her presence, her warm, unharmed, skin brushing against his.

'Hey don't worry,' Yao gave a reassuring smile, 'things will work out; you'll see.'

'You think?'

'I know!' there was a pause, then Yao ate another spoonful of porridge, shuddering visibly, 'I understand there is little to go on… but there are ways to cook food that won't-'

'James and Hunapo are trying,' snapped Elise, 'but there are so many people that all need feeding. We put those two in charge of cooking, but even two people can't handle it, and we cannot spare any more nurses…'

'Oh, I see,' Yao guiltily lowered his head, 'I wasn't trying too…'

'I know,' replied Elise, 'but James has been through a lot. He lost both his little siblings in the blast. They were too small to survive such pain and suffering…'

'I'm so, so sorry to hear that,' Yao was grateful that his little siblings were, at least, safe and alive, as far as he knew.

'They were just children,' continued Elise, 'the boy, Oscar, was a little younger than me, such a lovely kid, and the girl, Charlotte, was so tiny… she was so full of spirit!'

'It's terrible something like that should happen…'

'Hunapo helps James though,' Elise told him, 'you know, supports him and all. They have to keep an eye on him too… so he doesn't do anything stupid.'

'And by stupid you mean…' Yao didn't need to say it.

'Yeah,' Elise sighed, 'Oscar, Charlotte and Hunapo were his whole world. But Jett's strong; he and Huna will pull through.'

'Of course,' Yao was silent for a moment, thinking of a new subject, 'hey, Elise…'

'Yeah?'

'I was wondering, and I mean this in the least creepy way possible, if I could touch your face, just so I can feel with you look like,' he explained quickly.

'Of course,' Elise took his hands and held them close to her face. Tentatively, he brushed his fingers against the sides of her face, tangling them in her locks of hair. Yao continued running his hands through her hair. It was short, finishing just below her jaw, and soft. Most of her hair was tucked away behind a bandana though, for hygiene purposes. He moved onto her cheeks, cupping his hands around the side of her face, feeling her jaw line. Elise giggled, but made no move to stop him. He ran his thumbs over her eyebrows, traced the outline of her eyes, felt the shape of her small, round nose. His fingers lingered on her lips a little too long, and he looked away- if he could blush then he would've- and moved on to her cheeks, which were chubby and round.

'Elise,' he began, 'what colour are your eyes and hair? I'm trying to picture you.'

'Dirty blonde and teal,' replied Elise.

'Thank you,' Yao smiled, 'yes, I think I have a good picture of you,'

'Elise?' asked an unfamiliar voice.

'Oh, Vash,' Elise moved away from Yao, standing up, and he was left, hands still held up in front of him, 'did you find anyone else?'

'A few people,' the voice was harsh, stiff, 'what are you doing?'

'Yao here wanted to feel my face to see what I look like,' explained Elise.

'I see,' replied Vash, 'well, Franz is awake now and you're better with him than me. Can you check up on him please?'

'Oh, okay,' Yao heard Elise give a little clap, 'I'm so glad he's up again. For a while I was pretty worried…' Yao heard Elise's footsteps grow fainter.

'So you thought it would be okay to put your hands over my step-sister?' Yao could feel Vash's warm breath on his face, and hated it. It reminded him of hot air that burned and scorched. He wanted to ask Vash to move, but was scared of what the man's reaction would be.

'I just wanted to see what she looked like,' Yao cried, 'I never meant it any other way.'

'Why couldn't she just tell you what she looks like?' demanded Vash.

'People are harsh about their appearance,' stated Yao, 'I wanted an accurate picture.'

There was a pause before Vash spoke again. This time, he was right against Yao's ear, 'I have lost too much already to lose Elise to you,' he hissed maliciously.

'Understood,' Yao gulped, 'and I wouldn't dream of taking her away from you. I just think she's lovely and want to be her friend.'

'Of course,' Vash's voice was flat, like he didn't believe Yao, 'well, I'll leave you to your meal.'

Then he was gone.

…

Yeah back to Yao's p.o.v.

Sorry Hutt and Wy fans. I hope I gave enough warning about character death.


	7. Up to me now

Arjun sat on the edge of his mattress, guarding the sleeping family and watching over them protectively. Yao's siblings were stuffed together, tangled and covered in thin blankets on a lumpy mattress. Yong-Soo had his thumb in his mouth, and clung tightly to Cheng's shirt whilst Kim-ly's arms were wrapped around the stuffed panda toy- they took it in turns to sleep with the animal every night.

Arjun looked around the room: a large sports hall that was now a temporary hostel for refugees waiting for housing and transportation. The sports centre was in an abandoned town, now used for military purposes, and a day's train ride from the nearest city. They were surrounded by woods on all sides and Arjun felt reasonably safe here.

Safe from the bombs, at least.

He glanced around at the other families, also packed tightly into bunks, mattresses and sleeping bags. Places this crowded were, of course, rife with crime and there were daily instances of fights, theft, and sometimes even worse…

Arjun, along with Kiku, Cheng and Niran, had come up with a set of rules for everyone's safety: no one was to travel alone, only in groups of two or three; the girls and youngest two were not to be out of sight for even a second; and they must keep all their few possessions on them at all times, visas and money were hidden inside pockets and shoes. So far, they'd been pretty good at sticking to those rules. Even Xiang and Yong-Soo, who were still children, understood the gravity of the situation and obeyed their elders at all times.

Arjun's hand travelled to the breast-pocket on his jacket, where a small, sharp knife was hidden. Arjun was not a violent man. He hated the thought of hurting someone for no reason, preferring other means to make it through life, but right now he was prepared to kill if it guaranteed the safety of the small family next to him.

Arjun gave a silent, humourless chuckle; it was funny how war changed people.

He heard frantic running in the corridor outside, and his eyes fixed on the large double doors at the other side of the room, preparing to wake the others to either evacuate or hide. The guards on duty aimed their guns at the door, just in case.

'Come on,' a frantic voice on the other side cried, 'just a little further. Hold on, okay?'

The doors were flung open and two figures, one supporting the other, stumbled in.

'Don't shoot!' cried one of the figures, a male, 'please, we need help!'

Arjun shook Niran, the closest to him, awake, whispering to him to keep watch, then got up and moved towards the group, curious and eager to help. He and Yao had enrolled in a first aid course a few years ago and guessed he'd be needed.

They never finished the course, but Arjun was sure he'd know enough.

'What's wrong with them?' one of the guards lowered his gun and stepped forward.

'The bomb!' the young man glanced at his unconscious friend, 'we escaped early enough that we avoided the worst of the blast, but Eli tried to go back for her family- her cousins- and I followed. My little brother and sister were there too, but we couldn't find them and the air attacked us and Eli got sick and please help her!'

'You, came from the bombsite?' the guard looked at him in disbelief, 'that's incredible; we were sure there were no survivors.'

'Well we made it, now can you please help Eli?'

Arjun decided to make his presence known. 'Excuse me,' he tapped on the other guard's shoulder and instantly found a gun in his face, 'no, look, I have medical training and can help them.'

The guard lowered his gun and nodded, 'there's a first aid by the door. Tend to the girl first.'

'Thank you,' Arjun did as instructed but when he tried to take Eli her companion shook his head.

'Don't touch her!'

'But if I don't-'

'The chemicals from the bomb,' explained the young man, 'we're covered in them! They burn through everything and if you touch us you'll burn too!'

'I see,' Arjun rummaged through the first aid kit and found a pair of rubber gloves, 'what about now? Will I be safe?'

'I think so,' the young man allowed Arjun to take his friend and lay her on the floor to clean her. He tried to remember how to treat chemical burns, and wondered where he could get water to clean her. There were bandages, so that was something. Arjun glanced at Eli, taking in her appearance.

He could tell she used to be beautiful, but now her face was burned and blistered, her hair uneven and singed and her eyes gone. Arjun gulped, trying not to think about what Yao must be like, back in their town. He picked up one of Eli's arms to check the pulse, and stopped. Tentatively, he placed a hand on her chest, and lowered his head. Her heart was still.

He was too late.

'What is your name?' one of the guards, the taller one, asked.

'F-Feliks,' Feliks looked around nervously. There were other people awake now, drawing closer to get a glimpse of the new arrivals, and it made him uneasy. He was in barely a better state than Eli. His blond hair, once long and soft, now fell out in chunks, and he could only see out of one eye.

'Hello Feliks, I'm Ivan,' Ivan bent down to shake his hand, 'you're safe now, okay? So relax and we'll get you something to eat, medical attention and rest. But first we need to ask you a few questions, if that is okay with you.'

'Course,' Feliks shrank back from the crowd's gaze. All he wanted was help for Elizabeta, not all this unwanted attention, 'what do you need to know?'

'Well,' Ivan knelt down, 'we wouldn't mind knowing what happened. Do you know if there are other survivors?'

'No I haven't seen anyone,' Feliks gushed, close to tears now, 'but I know there were people hiding in buildings and a hospital and safe-houses were set up. But the bomb hit the people who were trying to escape! They'd hidden in the woods thinking the town would be hit and… they all died. There must have been thousands of people! Eli and I only survived because we were clear of the woods when it happened. My little brother and sister, and Eli's cousins, said they would meet us but they… we never found them!'

The other guard, the shorter one, began shushing the crowd away.

'Yeah, yeah, nothing to see here,' he growled, 'get back to sleep!' the crowd grumbled, but since the guard had a weapon they did not disobey.

'Do you know if the bomb was nuclear?' asked Ivan.

Feliks thought for a moment, 'it wasn't, at least, I don't think so. It was hot though, like the air was on fire.'

'Hey, you've done enough,' the second guard butted in, 'have a rest now, okay? I'm Lovino, by they way, and you're safe here, okay? Sir,' he added at Arjun, 'hurry up with the girl, Feliks here needs urgent attention.'

Arjun didn't reply; he kept looking at Eli sadly.

'Oy!' Lovino marched over to Arjun and shook him by the shoulder, 'I'm talking to you.'

'She's dead,' Arjun whispered, tears forming in his eyes.

'What are you talking-'

'She's dead!' cried Arjun, head snapping up, glaring at Lovino, 'she died and I couldn't save her!'

'What?' Lovino shook his head in disbelief.

'No,' Feliks crawled over to them, 'you're lying! Eli's alive!' he shook the girl by her shoulders, 'Eli, Elizabeta Łukasiewicz-Hedervary wake up this instant!' when he got no reaction, Feliks sighed, clutching her hands, 'don't leave me now… we've only been married for a month…'

'I'm so sorry,' Arjun placed his hand on Feliks' shoulder, but the young man shook it off.

'Get away from me,' he growled, 'murderer.'

'I'm so sorry,' Arjun repeated, backing away, hiding his face in shame. He stood up and half-ran half-walked back to his family, tripping over people in sleeping bags because he was so blinded by tears. Niran looked at him in confusion.

'What happened?' the teen asked.

'I…' Arjun shook his head, 'I failed to help someone. I told everyone I could help her and she died anyway.'

'Who died?'

'A girl, Eli,' replied Arjun, 'a survivor from the explosion. Her and her husband escaped, but she was too ill for me to do anything…'

'It's not your fault,' Niran told him, 'but wait, survivors? There are people who didn't die?'

'I doubt your brother is among them,' Arjun said quickly, before Niran became too hopeful, 'Feliks, her companion, said they left early. Yao was still in the town only a few hours before impact.'

'But maybe he survived,' pressed Niran, 'we could go back and che-'

'No,' growled Arjun, 'there's no hope! The air's too toxic to breath, and if Yao survived then he will be taken care of by the emergency services. But he didn't survive.'

'How do you-'

'I just know, okay?' Arjun glared at the teen, 'Yao's dead and gone and you have to move on. It's up to me to take care of you all; it was Yao's last wish. And I'll do that, okay? I promise I'll look after you all, but you have to accept Yao won't be coming back. I'm sorry, but it's the truth…'

'I'm not giving up on my brother,' said Niran firmly, 'I will continue to pray and hope until he either comes home or I have proof he's moved on. But let's say no more on the subject; it's late and I don't want the others to wake up. Shall I keep watch?'

'No, I can manage,' Arjun assured him.

'You shouldn't strain yourself like this,' Niran warned, but settled down to sleep anyway.

'I know,' Arjun reached into his pocket, pulling out a photograph of him and Yao, both men laughing and smiling at the camera. He balled up the paper and threw it across the room, glaring at it and hugging himself, gently rocking forwards and backwards. He kept repeating the same line over and over in his head: _Yao was gone, Yao was gone, Yao was gone…_

Sighing, he walked over to where the crumpled photograph had landed, picked it up, smoothed it out and held it to his chest.

'I miss you,' he whispered, 'but I have to be strong for everyone, right?' he looked at the photo again, 'I won't let you down.'

…

Yes more sad chapters, sorry everyone.

Oh, and Eli's cousins are Tino and Eduard (I really like the idea of those three being related) and Feliks' little sister and brother are Czech Republic and Slovakia (well they're all western Slavic so I thought they'd also be related).

So thank you to everyone who's reviewed/faved/followed so far, you're all awesome!


	8. That feeling of hope

_Donny- Molossia_

_Marianne- Monaco_

…

'Tino died today,'

A week had passed and Elise had visited Yao every day to tell him what went on in the hospital, the staff, the patients, recoveries, reunions, deaths, everything. It was a little ritual, and beneficial to both. Yao was kept informed on what he couldn't see- and what was out of hearing range-, and Elise had someone to talk to, to confide in, and to get advice from. They talked about their old lives a lot too. Elise told Yao about holidays across Europe with her mother, step-father and step-brother, cousins too sometimes. She described in great detail the Alps, with their winding trails and clear lakes, fishing trips to reservoirs and rivers, canal-boat rides, funfairs, Tallinn old town, the Isle of Wight, Giant's Causeway, French beaches, Italian cafes. It seemed her family travelled everywhere. Yao, on the other hand, entertained her with stories of his siblings, and all their games and jokes. He told her about Niran's love of elephants, only fuelled further by Arjun's insistence on bringing him back elephant ornaments from his trips to India. He mentioned how Kim-ly and Mei always stuck together, the two sisters against a sea of boys, and Xiang and Yong-Soo's pranks. How everyone referred to him as 'old man' after he put his back out picking toys up off the floor.

Of course, not every topic was a happy one, and as each day passed there were more and more casualties.

'Who's Tino?' Yao croaked; Elise passed him a glass of water before answering.

'One of our ambulance drivers,' she explained, 'he went outside without a safe suit and died before we could reach him.'

'Why would he do that?'

There was a pause before Elise spoke again, 'you… you have to understand that he lost his whole family. Husband, young children, brother, three brothers-in-law. They all tried to escape through the woods- Tino volunteered at the hospital and would join them later, if all went to plan…'

'And it didn't…?' Yao sighed.

'They all turned to dust,' whispered Elise.

'That's… awful,' Yao would've thought by now he'd be used to the idea of everyone around him dying, but apparently not. He tried to imagine the intense grief of the young ambulance driver, to have everyone he cared for blown away in an instant, but even he couldn't picture that much unhappiness. Once more, he thanked whatever force watching over him that his siblings and Arjun were safe and far away.

'Ellie,' mumbled an unfamiliar voice. Yao tried to place it, and realised it someone must be standing next to the bed; a child, maybe? Sounded like a child.

'Ah, you're up and about already, Franz,' Yao felt Elise shift next to him as she pulled her little cousin onto her lap, 'did you sleep well?'

'Mm-hm,' Franz mumbled. Yao looked away, trying to cover his face with his hair. After all, Franz was only twelve and he didn't want to scare the kid with his looks.

'Hello,' he heard Franz speak, quite close to his face, 'are you scared of me sir? I don't see why though; being frightened isn't very artistic.

'No, it's not that,' Yao sighed, 'I'm a bit grim and my sores might alarm you.'

'I highly doubt that,' replied Franz, 'do I have to repeat what I just said? Being scared is not art! Besides, mister, everyone looks like you here. We all look like extras in a zombie film.'

'Thank you, young man,' Yao chuckled, jumping slightly when he felt Franz wiggle in between them, 'ow, try not to brush against my arms, please.'

'Sorry sir,' Franz didn't brush against him again.

'You're a brave boy,' Yao commented, 'remaining cheerful through all this.'

'I have to,' replied Franz, 'or my brothers would be sad. Roddy told me to be brave and happy, so that's what I'll do.'

'I see,' Yao put his arms around the boy's shoulders- regardless of the pain of human contact- squeezing them lightly.

'Oh, comfy?' this new voice was familiar to Yao; it was the deep and heavily accented voice of Tsvetan Borisov.

'Yup,' Elise chuckled, 'it's nice all snuggled up with other people.'

'Good, so can we use your cousin's bed? If you three can fit in there then Mr Wang and Mr Edelstein can share it no problem. Please, we need all the beds when can get.'

'Um, I don't know, what do you think, Yao?' asked Elise.

'I see nothing overly disagreeable about that,' Yao responded, 'it's not like sharing a bed with young children is a new experience for me. Half my siblings were bed-wetters, the other half restless dreamers. I'm sure Franz won't be too much trouble.'

'I hug in my sleep,' Franz pointed out.

'That's fine,' Yao gave a small smile, 'so yeah, we're cool with sharing.'

'Good,' replied Tsvetan, 'we just found a warehouse full of school children. Relatively healthy, though a little underfed. Oh, we might need your help with them, Elise.'

'Of course,' Elise stood up, 'buy guys.'

'See ya,' muttered Yao.

…

'Sir, you really need to eat,' Hunapo insisted, shoving a bowl of soup under the boy's nose.

'Not until my brothers wake up,' Alfred growled, not looking at Hunapo, but continuing to stare at the two teens sharing a hospital bed next to him. There was his twin: Mathew, chest slowly rising up and down, sleeping peacefully curled up next to Donny, their younger brother, who was motionless. The three brothers shared a tiny corner of the hospital, crammed between the wall and a bookshelf. With one bed between three, Alfred was forced to sleep in a chair to make room for his severely ill brothers. None the less, he tried his best to make the space homely for when the pair finally regained consciousness. Drawings he'd done in a sketchbook of the three of them were pinned up around the wall, there were a few cuddly toys dotted about and the area was tidy.

Now if only they would wake up.

Well, there had been moments where one or both of them were half conscious, but never fully awake. And that was not good enough for Alfred.

Hunapo sighed and crouched down next to him, 'tell you what,' they began, 'if you have a bowl of vegetable soup, I'll get the doctor and she can give them a one over and maybe see if there's something she can prescribe.'

'Really?' Alfred looked up hopefully.

'Sure,' Hunapo gave a sweet smile and handed him a bowl and spoon before dashing off, returning shortly with a young, stern woman. She was around the same height as Hunapo, and if Alfred was standing he would have towered over them. Her light brown hair was brushed back into a plait and covered by a bandana for hygiene purposes and expensive glasses bordered her blue eyes.

'Mr Jones,' began Hunapo, 'this is Dr Bonnefoy. She'll take a look at your brothers.'

'Thank you doctor,' Alfred stood up to give her space to examine them. She ran her hand over their foreheads, wiped Mathew's face with a cloth, in case there was still chemical on his face and placed her hand on Donny's chest. The young woman stopped suddenly, turning her head sharply to glare at Hunapo.

Hunapo was a nice person. They didn't like to make people dangerously unhappy in an effort to remain truthful and if the only hope Alfred had was that his brothers would wake up, then who were they to take that away from him?

Dr Marianne Bonnefoy, however, didn't believe in sugar-coating situations.

'Mr Jones,' she turned at Alfred, stern expression back on her face, 'how long has your brother been dead?'

'What?' Alfred shook his head, 'no, you're wrong! He's just sleeping.'

'Sir,' Marianne glared at him, 'I am a professional and I say this man has been dead for a few days. How could you not notice? How did no one else notice?'

'Miss,' began Hunapo, 'it didn't seem fair to-'

''Fair' has no place in conflict, Hunapo Davies,' growled Marianne, glancing back at Donny. In all fairness, it was hard to see the telltale sighs. The boy was almost unrecognisable now. Same symptoms as the others, and this hospital has an overwhelming stench too, so one body hardly added to the smell of death. Still, added Marianne, as she gently lifted up Donny Jones' arm, with no heartbeat and tight muscles, who was Alfred trying to kid? Apart from himself, that is.

'Time of death: unknown,' she said aloud.

Alfred whimpered, and Hunapo clutched his shoulder for support.

'He's… but surely…' Alfred shook Hunapo off him and jumped up, leaning over the bed, 'come on, don't joke like this!' he ran his hand through Donny's hair, accidently pulling out large clumps as he did so.

'I never joke about things like this,' replied Marianne matter-of-factly.

'But… he's only a baby!' Alfred felt tears running down his cheeks. Why was he crying? Donny was just sleeping.

He had to be.

'I'd hardly call seventeen-'

'Marie,' began Hunapo, 'now's not the time.'

'Of course,' Marianne nodded, 'apologies. Now, on to the matter at hand. Mr Jones, we have to- and I cannot stress the importance of this- move the deceased to be buried.'

'No,' mumbled Alfred childishly, burying his face in his brother's shirt, 'you can't have him.'

'In the interests of sanitat-'

'There's nothing unsanitary about my brother!' cried Alfred.

Marianne sighed, turning to Hunapo, 'see what you can do. I cannot be dealing with unstable emotions right now. There are others who need me.' And with that, she walked off.

Hunapo was silent for a few minutes, deciding what to say, 'so,' they tried, 'are you going to let us take him?'

'Never,' whispered Alfred. Hunapo sighed and picked up a pair of half-melted sunglasses from the bedside table and handed them to Alfred.

'Look,' they began, 'that's not your brother. The body you're clinging to ain't Donny. His… soul? Spirit? Whatever, isn't there any more,' they gently poked Alfred in the chest, 'he's free now. And will always be with you. Next to you, holding your hand, and inside your heart. Mathew's too. And he'll be there forever. Cheesy, I know, but true.'

'Thanks,' mumbled Alfred, wiping a speck of dirt off the sunglasses, 'but… what if Mathew… I'll be all alone.'

'You can't lose hope,' Hunapo sat down beside him, 'it's your best quality: that refusal to stop believing. Mathew will come back to you.'

'Promise?' Alfred stared at them with the expression of a moody, demanding child and Hunapo gulped.

'Sure,' they said, 'I promise Mathew will wake up.' Hunapo felt low, like both Alfred and Mathew's wellbeing rested on the little New Zealander's shoulders. They were just the cook; when did they become involved with the patients?

Still, they were all in this mess. Might as well support each other.

'Sorry about Marie,' they added, 'she… well, she's our only qualified doctor and that puts a lot of pressure on her. Don't think of her as heartless. She lost a brother too…'

'Oh?' Alfred looked up.

'Francis…' Hunapo wondered if it was even their place to say, but it was too late now, 'gave up his life to save their younger sister. He'd gotten a visa for her at the last minute and practically threw her into the window of the moving train. He didn't have time to find shelter, but Michelle was transported to safety because of him.'

'Oh…' Alfred wasn't sure how to respond.

'Now are we going to move the body or not?'

Alfred paused for a moment, before finally nodded, 'do… do what you must.'

…

Sorry for the inactivity, writer's block. Yeah, let's blame that.

So, thank you to everyone who's taken an interest in this story, and thank you especially to Ayumi Kudou for all her support and ideas. You go girl!

So yeah sorry for all the misery, I'll try to make it more light-hearted from now on. And please leave feedback!


	9. Crowded

'What are you two doing _now?_' Arjun and Niran smiled innocently, cringing under Kim-ly's glare.

'Just, you know,' Niran shrugged, 'cheering everyone up a bit.'

'By standing on chairs and singing?' Kim-ly raised an eyebrow.

'In a random language too?' added Mei, standing just behind her sister.

'It's Hindi you uncultured little madam,' clarified Arjun, stepping off the chair he'd been standing on. He and Niran were stood in the middle of the hall singing and dancing to a small crowd. Children sat on the floor in front of them, or where held in their parents' arms, whilst the adult stood or sat on chairs and bunks. They'd done it to raise spirits, as everyone had looked pretty miserable for the past few weeks, and to pass the time since there was little else to do. Of course, the only reason the people here were still living in the hall was because they hadn't been assigned housing yet. A few, those travelling alone or in pairs, and people in desperate need of care, had already been shipped off to nearby villages and towns but there were many left to go. As a party of eight, Arjun feared he and Yao's siblings would be one of the last to be attended to.

'Fine,' sniffed Mei, 'Hindi then.'

She left Kim-ly to talk to the boys whilst she tried to find the others. They couldn't be _that_ far away, so Mei thought she'd be safe for a few minutes. If anyone tried to mess with her, she would just do what Kim-ly told her to: aim for where it hurt most. Satisfied with that plan, she weaved her way between families and couples, wrapped in jumpers and blankets to protect themselves from the cold of the large hall.

'Can I help you miss?' asked one of the guards, taking a step towards her. The other guard, who he'd been talking to, wandered off to patrol the room, making sure there were no more fights going on. Mei glanced at him, wondering if he was trustworthy. He was a little taller than her, on the thin side, and tanned with dark brown hair. His amber eyes gazed at her with concern, as if he genuinely wanted to help.

'Um, I don't think so,' Mei shrugged, 'I'm just looking for my brothers. They're probably near our bed or something.'

'Would you like me to accompany you?' asked the guard, 'oh, I'm Lovino, by the way.'

'Wang Mei,' the girl gave a small smile, 'my friends call me Meimei.'

'Pleasure to meet you, Meimei,' Lovino smiled and extended a hand, which Mei took.

'Sure you can walk me,' Mei added, 'it's only to over there anyway,' she pointed in the general direction and the pair began walking.

'So you're a guard man, right?'

'Yup,' Lovino beamed, 'pretty damn cool huh?'

'I guess,' Mei chuckled.

'Yeah I kinda look after everyone,' Lovino stretched casually, 'it's a pretty big deal. But it's no problem for me; got two younger brothers so I'm kinda used to responsibility.'

'Oh, what are your brothers like?' asked Mei politely.

'Dumb as fuck,' Lovino shrugged, 'and too happy, but okay, I guess.'

'I bet you like them really,' Mei smiled knowingly.

'Course!' exclaimed Lovino, 'they're sweeties in actual fact, talented too! They can draw and sing and cook like nobody's business. I taught them all I know.'

'That's nice,'

'You said you have brothers,' Lovino commented, 'what are they like?'

'Well, I have seven,' began Mei, 'six here in the hostel, and one… back in the town.'

'I see,' Lovino avoided her gaze, wondering what was the best thing to say. Should he be optimistic, and tell here there is a chance her brother was alive? Or should he just offer condolences?

'I'm sorry to hear that; I'm sure he was a wonderful young man,' Lovino chose the latter.

'Oh he's still hanging on,' Mei corrected, 'I just know it! Yao is too much of a bastard to just give up and die!'

'I know you must miss him…' Lovino began.

'Of course!' Mei exclaimed, 'we've never really gotten along, but he's my brother and I'm- we're- only alive now because of him.'

'I see,' Lovino sighed, 'at least you have the rest of your family, right?'

'Yup, what about yours?'

'Feli's around here somewhere but Sal's back home with our grandfather,' Lovino explained, 'he's still a little kid so wasn't cut out for this volunteer business. Feli's young too, but an expert cook and first-aid guy.'

'I see,' Mei thought for a moment, 'our guardian, Arjun, has some medical training too, if you ever need help.'

'I know. He tried to save a girl a few days ago. She died, but there was nothing anybody could do. It would be unfair to blame him.'

'It's terrible,' Mei whimpered, 'all that's happening.'

'Damn right it is,' growled Lovino, 'when Feli was little I vowed he'd never have to see bad things or be unhappy, now he's here amongst the dying and ill and lost. He hates death, but these crowded conditions lead to violence. All day he treats scrapes and cuts! And now there are diseases going around because we're all cramped together! And our one survivor from the explosion's health is deteriorating fast.'

'Speaking of survivors,' Mei chose her words carefully, 'do you know if there's any plans to search the town? There were hospitals and safe houses set up around the place, right? We can't just leave everyone behind!'

'I don't know for certain,' Lovino told her, 'but yes, the government won't leave people there to die. We just need the all clear, and some more supplies and we'll be ready to go.'

'Good,' Mei gave a small smile.

'Ah, there you are,' Kiku stood up from the mattress where everyone was sat and wandered over to them, 'do you know where the others are?'

'Oy,' growled Lovino, 'can't you see we're having a conversation here?' his shoulders squared and he glared at Kiku.

'Oh, Lovino,' began Mei, 'this is my older brother Kiku.'

'Your brother?' Lovino's eyes widened and his hostility vanished, 'oh I am so sorry sir, I didn't realise!'

Kiku frowned, but spoke politely, 'that's alright.'

'Well, I'll- err- leave you to talk then,' Lovino ducked into the crowd and disappeared. Sighing and shaking with embarrassment, he patted down the shirt of his uniform and began walking, slower now, until he found his brother. Feliciano was crouched down, holding out a chocolate bar to a small girl no older than six. Lovino looked at her closely, taking in her dark skin, brown hair tied into red ribbons and her thin dress, which would be useless against the cold. She was curled up between two mattresses, ignored by those around her and sniffing miserably, eyeing Feliciano with fear and suspicion.

'Hey come on,' Feliciano cooed, 'what's your name? Do you have family here? You can't stay here forever, you know?'

'You should listen to him,' Lovino knelt down next to his brother and smiled, 'Feli's a doctor; he knows what he's talking about.'

'I'm not a doctor,' mumbled Feliciano, 'you know that.'

'You're the closest we have,' Lovino shot back, then held out a hand for the young girl, 'we're not gonna bite, kid. We're here to help.'

The little child nodded and took his hand. Lovino pulled her closer and stood up, cradling her in his arms.

'So what's your name then?' he asked.

'Mi-Michelle,' she mumbled, 'Bonnefoy.'

'Well Michelle,' Feliciano told her, 'shall we find your family then?'

Michelle beamed, nodding, 'yes! They're far away and left me here! Please find them; I'm so scared here on my own!'

'Where are they now?' Lovino asked, fearing the answer.

'Back home,' Michelle told them, burying her face in Lovino's shirt, 'in the big town.'

'An orphan?' Feliciano muttered to Lovino, quiet enough so Michelle wouldn't hear.

'Appears so,' Lovino murmured back.

'Can you find my big brother Francis?' asked Michelle, 'and my big sister, Marianne?'

'No, sorry,' Lovino wasn't brought up a liar.

'What?' Michelle looked up at him in disbelief.

'Your brother and sister,' Lovino chose his words carefully, 'they're in heaven now, with god.'

'She might not be Catholic,' Feliciano hissed, 'you should be careful when saying things like that.'

'I don't know what else to say,' Lovino muttered, 'but, they'll be watching over you, okay? So you have to be good.'

Michelle nodded, lip quivering.

'We'll look after you,' Feliciano added, 'just stick with us, okay? It's kinda dangerous here.'

'Thank you,' Michelle mumbled.

'Here, you take her, I have to keep everyone in check,' Lovino passed the girl to Feliciano, then stormed off.

'He's not usually that grumpy,' Feli told Michelle, 'it's just he's a bit stressed,' his smile fell as he stroked the girl's hair, 'everything's changing now; it's really scaring me.'

Michelle squeezed his hand but didn't reply.

…

**Yay! I updated! Sorry it's short though, but chapters will definitely be longer now that I have a completed plan of this story written down.**


	10. All a game

'-And then the princess,' continued Franz, voice indicating that he was thinking hard, 'ran into the forest to escape the evil baron. It was dark and scary, and her dress caught on all the branches and the mud ruined her shoes, but she did not care. Eventually, she approached a clearing, cautiously peeking through the trees to find…'

'A horse!' cried Yao, breaking into a grin, 'fur so white it looked like a ghost! And it was thin, and the princess could see its ribs poking through its side. Its eyes were full of madness and as the princess drew nearer, it suddenly…'

'Dashed off!' the bed jiggled slightly and Yao guessed Franz was jumping up and down, 'through the trees! The princess followed as fast as she could and-'

'What's this?' Elise's voice gently cut Franz off and the mattress shifted as she sat in the end of it.

'We're playing a game,' Franz explained, 'basically we make up a story together by saying a bit and ending on a cliff hanger.'

'It was a favourite of Cheng's,' Yao added, 'and I hear it was popular with Franz and his brother.'

'I'm aware…'

'Would you like to play too?' offered Franz.

'Sure, but only for a little while. We're very busy, like always.'

'Should I start?' asked Yao.

'Be my guest,' he could almost picture Elise smiling as she said that.

'Well, once upon a time there was a young prince called… Prince Franz!' he paused for a moment whilst Franz giggled before continuing, 'he lived in a gigantic palace with his parents, the king and queen. Now you, Elise.'

'Every day, Prince Franz would go horse-riding and play games with his friends before coming home and having a grand feast with his parents beside a roaring fire. Then at night he would sleep in a giant four-poster bed.'

'But the boy's father,' continued Franz, 'King Yao, was gravely ill,' Yao flinched considerably, listening carefully. What was the child playing at? 'And, would die if he didn't get the right medicine.'

'Franz…' warned Elise.

'But,' the child continued, 'Prince Franz was too young to be king, but not too young to go on a quest to find the cure. Leaving his mother, Queen Elise, who was also a nurse, to care for the king and run the kingdom, the young prince set out.'

'He crossed forests,' Yao wondered why he was going along with this, and hoped Elise wasn't too put off by Franz's story, 'and scaled mountains, and eventually he found a witch. The witch was kind, not evil, and promised she would brew up the cure for him, if…'

'He rescued her love from a dark cave where he was trapped,' Elise's voice was steady, and Yao longed to be able to read her expression; 'it was huge and full of monsters and traps. The boy was afraid, but agreed, desperate to help his father.'

'So the young prince set off,' continued Franz, 'and he soon found the cave in question, nestled in a deep, thick forest. The entrance towered before him, and he could see little of what it contained. Steeling himself, he took a step inside…'

'Biedermann-Zwingli?' a deep, harsh voice interrupted Yao as he opened his mouth to continue the story. He turned his head towards the general direction Tsvetan's voice had come from, 'what are you doing now?'

'Play- playing a game,' Elise's voice was laced with humiliation, and Yao suddenly felt protective of her. Who was Tsvetan to order her around?'

'You're a nurse, not a child,' Tsvetan snapped, 'there are patients that need attention, _other patients_.'

'Yes, sir,' Elise whispered.

'It's my fault,' Yao cut in, 'I asked her to stay. Sorry to keep your co-worker away from her work.'

'Make sure it doesn't happen again,' Tsvetan sighed, 'look, sorry for snapping and all, but we're swamped here. Katya's trying to save this kid who's health's going down and I need to make sure everyone's fed.'

'Of course! Maybe Franz can help give out meals too.'

'I can! I can!' cried Franz.

'Is he well enough?' Tsvetan sounded sceptical.

'Of course!' the bed shifted as Franz jumped out, 'I'm not sick anymore!'

'Good. Maybe you can help clean too,' Tsvetan chuckled.

'Aw, but-'

'No 'buts',' Elise chided, giggling slightly.

'We'll give you easy work,' Tsvetan's voice seemed to be getting further away, 'coming, Elise?'

'Sure, in a minute.'

'Don't be too long.'

'Of course,' Elise was silent for a moment, 'Yao…?'

'Yes, Elise?'

'I'm sorry about Franz. He tends to be in his own little world and doesn't realise what's appropriate to say and what's not. I don't think he meant to upset-'

'He didn't,' Yao quickly explained, 'sure, his words were a shock, but they weren't malicious. I get it! He's dealing with everything in his own way.'

'Even if that way involves him seeing us as parents?'

'It's not hurting anyone, right? Oh, if it upse-'

'It doesn't,' Elise chuckled, 'I was just worried about you.'

'That's very sweet.'

'Thank you,' Elise paused again, 'maybe, if it helps him, we should act like parents towards him. Just temporary, of course!'

'Right, course… that's no problem!'

'Elise!'

Elise groaned, 'coming, Tsvetan.'

…

It was a single movement at first.

Eagle eyes fixed firmly on his twin, Alfred could not mistake the slight twitch Mathew's eyelid gave. A few minutes later, he saw his brother stir, slowly opening his eyes to look around blearily before turning to face him.

'Mattie?' Alfred's face broke into a wide grin as he rose from his seat to take the young man's hand, 'you're okay!'

'Course,' Mathew coughed and looked around, eyes becoming more focused, 'Whe-where am I?'

'In hospital,' Alfred replied, 'you're safe now.'

'Good,' Mathew allowed his brother to pull him into a sitting position and looked around. In all honesty, he could've been a lot worse. One eye was half-closed and swollen, his hair was thinner and his face was red and raw, but it was nothing compared to the injuries that killed his younger brother. Mathew's smile faded when he failed to find said brother. 'Where's Donny?'

Alfred averted his gaze, 'I-I'm so sorry. It's all my fault-'

'Alfred,' Mathew's voice was stern, 'where's Donny?'

'He's gone,' Alfred's voice was barely a whisper, 'it was too… too much to survive.' Then the tears started. All the feelings of loss and relief and inadequacy just came flooding out. It didn't matter what people said, or what they would say in the future; all that mattered was that he'd failed to protect his brothers and now Donny was dead. They would never be a family again because of him!

'Alfred,' Mathew glared at him, 'I know what you're thinking, and stop it! What happened is not your fault. You didn't know that dog of his would run out of our hiding place and you didn't know me and him would follow her! It was just… an unfortunate incident that happened at the wrong time.'

'But still,' pressed Alfred, 'it was my job to make sure everyone was safe inside!'

'No it wasn't! Stop blaming yourself,' Mathew, too, was on the verge of tears, 'please don't be like this; I still have so many questions and need you to be strong and answer them.'

'Right, of course!'

'So, what has happened while I was asleep?'

…

'Tired?' Katya regarded Elise with amusement as they both leaned against the windowsill, mugs of tea warming their hands. Elise just nodded, yawning.

'Still, things seem to be getting into a routine now,' Katya continued, 'and every day there are less patients to deal with. Though now that I think of it, that's a horrible thing to say…'

'It was,' Elise agreed.

'Tsvetan throw a hissy-fit again?'

'Pretty much; he was really scary. I think he scared Yao too.'

'Using the patients' first names, are we?' Katya regarded the younger girl with amusement, 'you seem awfully fond of Patient Wang.'

'He's a nice friend.'

'Right,' Tsvetan appeared behind them, moving over to the windowsill and placing a bowl of stew down in front of him. His eyes flickered over the garden for a second, scanning the smoggy, toxic outside world until he saw a mound of fresh, disturbed earth, where he'd dug his friends' graves.

'Course, friend,' he continued, 'I don't believe it.'

'What else could we be?'

Tsvetan snorted into his spoon, covering his mouth with a hand, 'oh little girl, don't you have any idea?'

'Don't be mean, Tsvet,' Katya cut in.

'I'm not! I'm just trying to point out the truth. Not my fault it's so funny.'

'What is?' asked Elise, frowning.

'He fell for a voice,' replied Tsvetan, lip curling into a snarl, 'and you fell for a dead man.'

'Tsvet!'

'No one's fallen for anyone!' cried Elise.

'Oh please,' Tsvetan rolled his eyes, 'don't try to hide it. Actually, do. It'll be less painful in the long run…'

'That's enough Tsvetan!' Katya was growing more and more irritated.

'Oh I don't have to listen to this,' Tsvetan threw his spoon back into the bowl and stormed off.

'I don't believe him sometimes,' Katya dashed off after him, finally catching up to him in the corridor leading to the garage.

'Borisov!' she yelled, 'get back here now and explain yourself!'

'I'm going for a walk!' he called back, growling as she leapt in front of him and barred his way, leaning against the door that opened to the ambulance room.

'Oh no you're not,' Katya glared at him, 'Tino went for a 'walk' and he never came back. I won't make that mistake again!'

'Yekaterina, baby, please, I need to get out of here. Get me out of here, I'm begging you!' he dropped to his knees, eyes wide and hands shaking as he clutched Katya's skirts, 'I can't be around death and illness any longer! I'm going mad in here and don't know what to do!'

'But people need you here!'

'I don't want people to need me!'

'Even if those people include me?'

Tsvetan paused, looking up slowly.

'I thought you and me were gonna be a team forever? Yes, you lost Alin and yes, everything seems hopeless now but it's not! We're here; we're strong and I'll be dammed if I let your mind tell you otherwise!'

'Of… of course,' Tsvetan got up slowly, 'but I'm struggling. I don't know where the future's going or how long we can hold out or if anyone will survive-'

'But we'll be ready for whatever happens,' Katya assured him, 'this place has loads of people dedicated to staying alive and keeping everyone safe and well. There's nothing you, me, Elise, Vash, Hunapo, Marianne, Jett and the others can't figure out. Look, Alin wouldn't want you to be like this and I don't either. I know you're strong. You can do this! But please don't take it out on the others.'

'Yes, that was unwise…'

'Now, we have to go apologise to Elise.'

…

**I actually fucking updated something holy shit!**


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